FCC Chairman Carr Warns Stations About War News Coverage

In a social media post, FCC Chairman Carr reiterated President Trump’s concerns about news coverage of the Iran war.  In a post on X, Chairman Carr said:

“Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions - also known as the fake news - have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up.

The law is clear.  Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.

And frankly, changing course is in their own business interests since trust in legacy media has now fallen to an all time low of just 9% and are ratings disasters.

The American people have subsidized broadcasters to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation’s airwaves.

 It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news.

When a political candidate is able to win a landslide election victory after in the face of hoaxes and distortions, there is something very wrong.  It means the public has lost faith and confidence in the media.  And we can’t allow that to happen.

Time for change!”

The post drew immediate reaction from various organizations and politicians.  No doubt this issue will be front and center for some time. It is worth noting that in New York, radio license renewals will take place in 2030 and TV license renewals in 2031.

You can see Chairman Carr’s post on X here.

You can see an analysis regarding radio in Inside Radio here.

You can see reaction to the  Chairman’s Post from member of Congress in The Hill here.

Additional responses from President Trump and policy makers were reported in The Hill here.